Rangpanchmi is a festival of joy coolour and enjoyment. People use different types of colour to celebrate this fest but it can Some of the harmful components used in the making of synthetic colours include lead oxide, diesel, chromium iodine and copper sulphate. For instance, the five predominant colours used during Holi are extracted from toxic substances and are therefore highly harmful to health.

These colours are actually industrial chemicals — black (lead oxide), green (copper sulfate and malachite green), silver (aluminum bromide), blue (Prussian blue, cobalt nitrate, indigo, and zinc salts), and red (mercury sulfate). Occasionally, additives such as mica dust and glass particles are added to the colours to give them a shine. These again are very harmful to the skin. The sale of such products is largely unregulated.

Side effects include itching, dryness, exfoliation of skin, erosions of skin and eczema. Skin abrasions can occur due to scrubbing of skin to remove the colours.

It is essential that people switch to natural organic colours or home-made colours from the kitchen or garden. Chemical colours need to be avoided completely. In fact, there is an urgent need for the government to totally ban the sale of these colors at the time of Holi,